Slang versus "Proper English" in the modern world

Abstract

Formal language is often used in official public notices, business situations, and polite conversations with strangers. Formal language has stricter grammar rules and often uses more difficult vocabulary. It is more commonly used in writing than in speech. It follows the conventions of proper language and it uses language forms that often grammatically and lexically considered appropriate or agreed upon by most educated users of the language. Informal language has less strict grammar rules and often has shortened sentences. It often violates the conventions of proper language. When people speak in their own language using slang, it broadens the English language by adding more words. Language isn’t stable, and a language such as English is a collection and collaboration of the words of many other languages such as Latin and Greek, as well as the romance languages of Europe. As civilizations grow, change, and expand, so do the words in the language. Slang is also constantly changing. New words are added all the time and people stop using older words. This can make it difficult for a learner to understand the language. Not all slang expressions disappear out of the language after they’ve served their purpose. In fact, the expression can become so absorbed into the English language that it’s no longer just slang word or expression, but a mainstream expression. We have many examples as cool, hang out, swag, etc. Slang is often used as a way to appear friendly to someone or to show that you belong with a certain group of people or that you understand popular culture. It shows that you are part of the “in crowd” and that the language you share is part of your code language. The sociolinguist Michael Halliday (Thorne, 2014: vi) commented that all the socializing environments in which individuals develop their identities, the circle groups is the most difficult to get into. However, it is from the peer group, whether consisting of skateboarders, school kids or soldiers that slang typically emerges.